Location: Endocrinology and Metabolism Ward of Integrative Medicine Hospital


It was time for the patients to have free activities every afternoon. We put on our volunteer uniforms and went to find some seniors to chat with. There was only one who was alone and we knocked on the door and came in.

The grandma was about 65. She kept her distance when we first came in. She began to talk freely with us once we told her our purpose for coming. She told us she was born in Nanjing and had never left Nanjing her whole life. She had worked in a factory near the hospital until she retired. She had to leave the hospital as soon as possible because the medical bill was too expensive. It was still a heavy burden on her even though 75% of the medical expenses would be reimbursed. We felt a bit worried about what she said. She continued to refer to some social problems such as a high house price and education fee.

We saw an old man talking with his son in the corridor, and we went to them. The old man told us he accompanied his wife to see doctor. He once was a worker in a factory and he had joined the Liberation War and Korean War, where his hand was broken in a battle. While talking, the grandpa referred to our plans after graduation and advised us to gain more practice in society before graduation so that we could be ready for work.

With the help of his teacher, Qinming sent us a thank you letter.

May 10, 2012

All staff of LRS,

Hi, thank you for your encouragement and support to us who live in mountain area. I hope everything goes well and that you live a happy life.

I am a student of Dongping Primary School in Tange Town, Wushan. I am in Grade 5. I was the only one in school who needed to run because I had congenital heart disease. I looked weaker than my peers, and I used to have difficulty breathing. Even worse, I would sometimes suddenly faint.

For more than 10 years, my father had taken me to many hospitals. But my father finally decided to give up because of the medical expense. Then one day my father heard that there was one program that supported children with congenital heart disease. We came for a consultation, and they treated us warmly. We were informed that the program was called “Little Red Scarf Union” which was founded by The Ping & Amy Chao Family Foundation, American Point Fund, and Angel Heart Fund. The program aims to provide support for children with congenital heart disease in poor families and finds the best professional doctors and medical treatment. By providing a valid identification of household income, a personal application, a medical report, and filling in a form, parents could take their children to an appointed hospital in Lanzhou.

May 10, 2012

Dear Teacher Yun,

How have you been recently? It’s been a long time since we met last time. I guess you must be busy because I haven’t seen you visiting our school. Please take care of yourself so that you will be full of energy when you work.

During the month, we had a general exam and physical examinations continuously for 3 days. They gave me headaches. To my surprise, I was able to run 800 meters in the 1,000 meter race. My legs were weak although there were still 200 meters to complete. Luckily, they asked 2 medical staff to help me take medicine in time and there was nothing wrong with me. After the exam, our school held a parents’ meeting. Anyway, a lot of things happened this month. I have not recklessly spent the money you gave me, but rather, I have followed your instructions to spend accordingly in my study expenses and life necessities. Thank you for your caring for me. I will study hard to realize my dream and live up to your expectation. Please remember that you have promised me to take me to hot springs in Wushan before leaving. You’re not allowed to lie to me! Anyways, I will talk to you more next time we meet!

Goodbye Aunt Yun and all the Aunts and Uncles from LRS!

Your saved child,

Zhongshe


Original letter by Zhongshe, translated by Shishi Ma, and edited by US interns Isabel Auyeung and Janna Wang.

Dear Isabel Auyeung,

I’m glad to hear from you. I’m fine and living a happy life. I really appreciate what you have done for me. Thank you for caring about my life and my studies. Seeing your letter, I know you were born on April 12 of 1995; I was born on April 8 of 1996. I will celebrate your birthday at my home. I miss you very much. How have you been recently? I know you love singing and dancing just like me. Please maintain your hobbies. I sing lots of songs in Drum Team, and I will continue to do so. The scenery in our hometown is very beautiful, you’re welcome to come to our hometown with your friends when you have time. I am looking forward hearing from you. I will show my classmates that I have an American pal.

Your Chinese pal,

Fangdi

Original letter by Fangdi, translated by Shishi Ma, and edited by US interns Isabel Auyeung and Ally Nguyen.

Dear Teacher Yun,

Hello! There are many things I would like to tell you, but I lack the courage to do so, so today I am deliberately writing this letter to you. I once had congenital heart disease.  My family of four struggled to raise the money for me to have surgeries done at the Lanzhou University No. 1 Hospital. My family is poor and my mother works all day long. I can only help my mom work on Saturday and Sunday. Although our family life is very difficult, I would still like to work hard and learn.

I really appreciate what LRS and doctors have done for me. Thank you for all your help.

Sincerely,

Wenjuan.


Original letter by Wenjuan, translated by Shishi Ma, and edited by US interns Isabel Auyeung and Janna Wang.

There is good news: China Hemophilia Home has become a new cooperative partner of Transparent Fish. We encourage the China Hemophilia Home Community to pay attention to our new partner at http://www.toumingyu.org/group.php?group_id=369

The Hemophilia Home of China is a non-profit organization founded in September of 2000 under the care and support of Hematology Institute of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. All the staff is comprised of volunteers who care about hemophilia cause. We sincerely hope our cooperation will promote China Hemophilia Home to provide more and better service for hemophilic patients. Congratulations to China Hemophilia Home.


At the same time, I, on behalf of Transparent Fish, express our appreciation to all organizations. Thank you for your cooperation and support. I’m so glad that we have a common philosophy and understanding. I expect to have further interaction with you. Moreover, I hope more organizations will join us and expand our non-profit career.

Original article by Nancy Nguyen, translated by Shishi Ma, and edited by US interns Isabel Auyeung and Ally Nguyen.

After internal discussions of the Tu Zhuanjia projects and funding (the transparent fish fund) communication , they officially announced the 2012 target of the Tu Zhuanjia project adjustment notice. In order to ensure the quality of sharing reports and articles, it adjusted to 4 articles of domestic experience sharing and 6-8 foreign experience sharing per year.

During the 2 month practice, we found we needed much more work than we had previously thought to plan an article of foreign experience sharing that matched Chinese local culture and conditions and could guide the development of grass-roots organizations.

There are several steps to issue an article. We need to choose a topic, write a draft, and promote. And then we should collect advice, amend, and finally issue the article. It takes at least 40-60 hours to finish an article. It takes less time in translation but more time in revising and composing.


We have a part-time project manager who spends 8 hours each week and takes charge of the project and a part-time editor who spends 15 days per month to collect files of domestic experience. It mostly depends on Wu Jing to draft foreign experience sharing material.

Original article by Jianhua Su, translated by Shishi Ma, and edited by US interns Isabel Auyeung and Ally Nguyen.

The rain lasted for 2 days in Sichuan, but I’m especially happy for 2 reasons.

First of all, we have made a magical effect in guiding children to read Di Zi Gui with their mothers.

Secondly, my husband was worried about me and is coming to see me. He promised to send me to Haotang village for women’s training when I finish my work in Sichuan.

At 9:30 pm on May 15, 2012  “Sing for Workers”, a New Workers Art Ensemble, arrived in Fuyang, Anhui Province.



Fuyang is a city with a population of 10 million. Notorious events such as the “White House death sentence”, tainted-milk scandal, and farmers petition, have caused high public attention. On the other hand, the struggles show the local people’s admirable courage to fight against injustices in society.



It did not occur to us that our planned public performance was canceled by the government without any reason. The performance had been approved by Anhui Province Non-government Organization Administration and Anhui Province Social Work Association. It was noted as a non-profit and positive public activity. What did the government think?



We had prepared and looked forward to our performance for a long time, but when the unexpected result came to us, we were very disappointed. We sang in the street and it felt great, no one could stop us from singing.



On the morning of May 16, we were invited to participate in the 14th anniversary celebration of Nan Tang Xing Farmer Cooperative. We decided to put our stage here. The construction site, firm, and farmlands belonged with our image on stage.



Yang Yunbiao, director-general of Nan Tang Xing Farmer Cooperative, made a speech. He recalled the struggling history of our cooperative. He had mobilized all the members and villagers to build a cooperative monument which was used to remember the history of fighting for dreams.

Dear friends of Transparent Fish, thank you for your support. It was a big surprise for all the volunteers of Greenbelt Volunteer Center to receive the good news from the bank. We were informed that we received our first financial aid--3,000RMB from Transparent Fish Fund. There is a saying in China that “spring rain is as precious as oil”. The financial aid is just like the spring rain that comes at the right time.

Original article written by Jie Li, translated by Shishi Ma, and edited by US interns Isabel Auyeung and Ally Nguyen.